Reflective displays can be based on different display technologies (e.g. electrophoretic, electrochromic, cholesteric, gyroelectric, interferometric modulation, . . . ). Each display technology is based on reflective materials, molecules or structures that can be combined into the picture elements or pixels that comprise a display.
Reflective displays rely on ambient light for information display and hence are ideal devices for, for example, portable electronic equipment as they do not require the power hungry backlight illuminator. However reflective displays suffer from inherent difficulties in producing high contrast and high colour images with adequate resolution. Some of the newer reflective technologies however have made substantial headway into overcoming these problems, especially the full color issue.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional stripe-type pixel structure, comprising three primary colors, i.e. red (R), green (G) and blue (B), as it is most often used in reflective displays.